Racing the Storm

[bushwacked]

"How do I switch myself off?" Triste took a sip. "I guess... I just remember what's at stake if I don't follow my orders. Working for the Ivitz can be hard, but they've always got the future in mind. And that's what always gets me through. Knowing that, as difficult as it might seem, the greater good is always the most important thing. More important than getting... emotionally involved." Staring off to the side she smiled, almost sadly. "It's what the Ivitz teaches you. And the Ivitz is... well, it's the only thing I've ever known."

Her eyes lowered to her glass. "Yeah, I guess it can get... lonely," Triste shrugged. "I've never really thought about it before. Getting close to people on your team just makes it harder if something goes... wrong. Back before you went missing, you were the only one who made me feel like maybe I could take the risk," she lied, glancing up at Vergil. "But then... Well, you know what happened next. We all thought you were dead, and..." She shook her head and took another drink. "Sounds pretty pathetic when I say it out loud."

---------------------------------------------

Axel lowered himself gingerly into his chair and looked out at the view the deck offered them. After all that had happened, something this relaxing seemed almost unreal. The rat stretched his legs under the table and sighed contentedly. "I could get used to this..." He glanced at Lily and grinned. "Mrs. Whent! How about we buy a big boat like this? Just for ourselves! We can sail the seven seas! You know, when we're not, ah... trying to stay unbroke..." He trailed off and looked confused for a moment.

He looked over at Marita and the other two, and remembered why they'd arranged this meeting in the first place. "So... how are you taking it, Marita? We haven't really had time to talk since Tony..." Axel grew quiet, his expression morose.

[aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato)]

Lily nodded in agreement. "He was a dear friend, and it was so sudden..." she bowed her head, tears welling in her eyes. "But we couldn't have been hit as hard as you were..."

A jet black wolf walked up to the table, dressed like a waitress and wearing a nametag with a yellow border. "Heya! I was told you all get a free alcoholic drink cause of something that happened. What'll it be?" She whipped out a notepad and pen from between her breasts.

"Just water, please," said Lily politely.

[Pterano]

"And?" Vergil asked her here. "I mean... so you're saying companionship and getting close to your team members is just a weakness? That assignments are all just statistics and numbers? That really sounds... like a cold existence." he commented here ruefully. "So I should just... switch off, not care, and only think about the outcome of my actions?" he inquired, looking up at her here as he took another drink.

"If so... what separates me from Rex and Kalis? Rex took his emotions for others out of the equation after awhile... too much death and pain he'd suffered, I guess. He took greater and greater risks, and was willing to kill others as collateral damage if it meant ultimate victory over the Alliance. And that point of view changed him over time... and I don't think it was for the better. Kalis, who was already a hothead, simply played off that the more erratic Rex became; that much I do remember. The mission and victory at any cost... it just doesn't sound... right... or conducive to mental well-being." He sighed here, looking down into his drink as he watched the ice cubes drift in the bottom of the glass.

[Serris]

Soren entered the resturaunt and gave the name that Axel and Lily had made their reservation at. He was dressed in casual clothing. From all appearances, he appeared to be slightly drunk ó thanks to the pills he had taken earlier before his previous overindulgence in alcohol.

"So, how has everyone been?" He took a seat next to Axel. A Vulpine waiter gave him a glass of ice water, which he quickly drank.

[bushwacked]

"This mission... defeating Kalis... You don't think it's worth any cost? What'll happen to the world if Kalis wins - we can't let that happen." Triste put her glass back down on the table. "Vergil, what drives me is always the greater good. Achieving that goal... it can mean some hard choices. Impossible choices. But at the end of the day, sometimes those decisions need to be made. Killing ten to save fifty...  Logically, don't you see it makes sense?" She shook her head. "That's what separates us from the likes of Kalis and Rex. The sacrifices they make are influenced by power. Greed. The need to... dominate others. You saw first-hand what Kalis did back in Lanthae. The slaughter of thousands of innocent lives... for no discernible reason. People like us are needed to stop people like that."

Triste sighed. "I know it's not easy to hear. Or think about. But sometimes, sacrifices just... they just have to be made. I don't like it. And whenever I can avoid it, I do. But sometimes, those choices just need to happen," she repeated, almost to herself. Pausing, she turned her head and looked through the window, out at the darkness of the sea. "Don't think I'm criticizing you, Vergil. I can tell you care about everyone on the team. It's... admirable." She sighed again. "It's just been so long since I've worked with anyone like that."

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Axel looked sideways at the person who'd just joined them, and his expression brightened slightly once he recognised the human. "Soren!" he smiled, putting his arm around him and ruffling his hair slightly. "We're just, ah... just trying to feel better about what happened with Tony. Him and Marita were almost... you know..." He stopped and peered closely at him. "Hey, are you... are you drunk?"

The waitress arrived, and Axel regarded her appreciatively. "A free drink? Sweet! I'll have a, uh..." He looked down at the menu, his eyes slightly glazed. "...A Sex On The Beach..."

[Pterano]

"But that's exactly what Rex was saying!" Vergil came to his feet now. "During the Scorched Earth War he kept saying it was the only way to victory... we sacrifice here so that we gain later. It was for the greater good. It was to defeat the Alliance, who cared nothing for life and nuked every region they could if it stood in their way. They had NO qualms about killing millions! They were little better than animals! Rex wasn't getting the support he needed from the Federation at first, who ordered him NOT to engage... that the Alliance posed no significant threat." Chugging the rest of his drink, he set it down hard upon the table.

"But Rex didn't believe them! The Alliance initiated outright genocide on entire cultures of people! They didn't care! Rex too swore he'd defeat the Alliance at ANY cost... but was the creation of Rex's Rebellion afterwards too high a cost? Look at what the war turned Rex and Kalis into! Rex became the very thing he swore to defeat! Even then the Federation still officially refused to sanction his efforts, despite them seeing with their own eyes the atrocities of the Alliance! He formed a compromise: his supporters would fight as an independent unit under Federation supervision. But what did he do? He began taking 'moral shortcuts' in order to ensure victory. He became just as brutal as the Alliance in order to beat them, because that was the ONLY way to beat them! He knew the Federation had massive reserves he could burn through in order to achieve victory, but he sent hundreds of thousands to their deaths in stopping the Alliance because he knew he could... and because he felt it the only recourse. He placed valuable generals... some your former superiors, in dangerous positions as traps to lure top Alliance fleets into ambushes where he could wipe them out, but at the cost of the bait being sacrificed as well! Is that... is that the kind of warfare you prescribe to?" Vergil asked shakily, his legs wobbling a little here.

"Is that the kind of tactics you believe in in order to achieve victory for the 'greater good?'" he asked, eyes searching her desperately for an answer. "Everything's expendable for the final goal? Is that really all there is to it? Then... then we're no different from Rex! He achieved victory through the expenditure of hundreds of thousands of lives! He'd send out units to get purposely wiped out so they could expose the weak points in the Alliance lines, then he'd capitalize and annihilate the Alliance defenses based on his findings... findings which cost ten Federation soldiers for every one Alliance soldier killed. It wasn't for greed or power back then... no..." Vergil whispered that last bit, shaking his head. "He fought so the Federation wouldn't lose, and he won... sure he won, but he left the Federation a shell of its former self, barely able to hold him off when he turned traitor and started his own offensive. He didn't truly change until after he killed the Alliance's leader in personal combat and defied his orders not to pursue their beaten remnants into the Unknown Regions. He said he wanted to make sure they'd never pose a threat to the world ever again. But by the time he came back... something had changed him for the worse... I don't..."

Vergil paused here, shaking his head as he began backing away from her. Was he really starting to remember all this? It was like his mind had opened up, unlocked a deep part of itself it had forgotten for years. The cob webs were coming off... sure he'd read about the war and Rex plenty of times, and maybe that was it, but there was a clarity to his speech as well... almost as if he was reliving it.

Sinking back down into the chair, he stared ahead, as if dazed before coming back to himself. "How does... how DOES what you just said make you or me any different from him and what he was doing? He was doing it for the greater good too... to stop the genocide and nuclear strikes... but was he any better than his opponents? Huh? Was he?" the gecko almost demanded, and it was evident he was hurt and struggling with his inner feelings.

[Nick22]

Marita ordered a glass of Hot Sands Wine, and stared at her water glass ';' Well its slowly starting to sink in' she said finally.' Tony and I were not an official couple, the date we were going to go on was to be our first. still, I was looking forward to it, to see what he was like  when he didn't have to bear the legacy of his family. And he would have been the first guy I'd have dated since college, which was , oh about 8 years ago. I've dated Great Danes, Newfoundlands, Bernese Mountain dogs, cats, badgers, and a few other species, and for the most part, they were good guys and girls, but well, there wasn't that 'click' you get when you meet someone who compliments you very well. What hurts the most about Tony, is the lost potential, to learn if there was something there between us. I'll never know now, of course." Marita breathed heavily, as she swirled the water in her glass. "I appreciate you doing this for me Lily and Axel. This is something I needed."

[aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato)]

Lily nodded somberly. "But what you have to remember is that you're not alone," Lily smiled at her. "We're here for you. Especially Rose and Marie, your best friends.We can support you and we can remember Tony together." She took a deep breath. In a few minutes she planned to tell the others about Ejlert...

The waitress returned with Axel's and Marita's drinks. She also had a bubbling light green liquid in a can she gave to Soren and two warm cream-colored cocktail glasses for Rose and Marie. "I thought I'd throw these in here. This does wonders for a hangover," she said kindly to Soren, noticing his countenance with an air of understanding. "And for you madams," she smiled at Rose and Marie, "the Hibiscus Extract is our most popular drink. Has a powerful, deep flavor. We just didn't want your friend to drink alone, and don't worry, they're on the house."

[bushwacked]

He sure does love listening to himself speak… Triste arranged her features into a sympathetic expression, and put on a soft tone. “Kalis and Rex were always monsters. But back then, before they turned traitor…” She crossed her arms in front of her. “I can understand the choices that were made.  I already told you that I don’t like having to make those kinds of decisions. And if there’s a way around them, I’ll always try to find another way. But what if that isn’t an option? The needs of the many will always outweigh the needs of the few.”

She raised her eyes to meet Vergil’s, staring at him evenly as he sank into the chair. “We can argue the ethics of how they handled the war before they betrayed us until we’re blue in the face, but the fact is that now Kalis is the one threatening the world with genocide, and we’re the ones trying to stop it. We can’t afford to be weak. If – and I’m saying if – there’s a difficult choice to be made, and there’s no alternative, we have to be prepared to make it. Because otherwise, we lose.”

-------------------------------------

"Right... we've gotta stay together if we're gonna get through this," Axel nodded, sipping his drink contentedly through the little straw he'd been given. As the waitress handed the exotic looking drinks to the others, he looked over at Lily, and saw she seemed slightly anxious... probably about the news she'd told him she was going to break. Axel reached across and touched her hand, giving her an encouraging, if slightly shaky, look. It's okay.

[Pterano]

"No... I refuse to believe that they were always monsters. There's no way the Federation would've recruited them if they had been. Rex and Kalis were called heroes at one point... they were the best of friends, and remained inseparable, even after their treason. They didn't start out that way... that's where you're wrong." he told her flatly, shaking his head. "And that's what makes me worried the most about the outcome of this mission. If we're willing to compromise our own values to defeat Kalis, there's nothing stopping us from becoming just like him or Rex. Nothing separates us from them..." He stood up again here, crestfallen.

"Those are choices I'm not willing to make. I know what's at stake, and I'm admitting to you right now that I can't see it through if it comes to that... I thought I could rely on at least someone in this group... but it turns out... it turns out I was wrong." he said with dejection, and turned away from her now. "I can't follow ideals that place ones I love below my mission." He began heading for her door now. "Tell Fugate to send me a new team... ones I don't know and won't have time to grow attached to. If you don't, I will. There's no reason for any of you to continue this insane mission any longer. You'll only be liabilities to me, or hindrances, if that's the term you prefer. I need to do this without distractions... and without interference. I'm sorry Triste... but the mission has changed. If I wasn't so involved it'd be fine... but I made a promise to protect you, and others, and I'm not even sure I can keep that promise anymore."

Turning as he reached her door, he glanced back at her sadly. "I wish... I wish I could fight these feelings... suppress them... but I'm not like you... I just can't switch off. Already I'm growing to care about you in a dangerous way... a way that could compromise us... I need to stop it here." he informed her, almost pleadingly. Tears were forming in his eyes, and it was clear he was trying to fight off these new feelings within him, struggling to keep a level head about him. It was clear he wanted desperately to do something else... to not have to put up this wall between himself and her, but his own inner regret was winning out, and this struggle for dominance was faltering on the side of caution.

[bushwacked]

“Remember the briefing we had with our superiors all that time ago? Do you remember what you were told about Kalis?” Triste asked as Vergil headed for the door. “’His only goal is chaos and destruction’. You don’t just become that kind of person. You always are that person,” she disagreed, her eyes narrowed. “Monsters can have friends. And the Federation can make mistakes.” You naÔve fool, she added silently.

As he turned around, Triste’s expression flipped back to its concerned and sympathetic faÁade. “If you want to replace the other members of the team, that’s your prerogative.” Keeping the original members would have been safer in preserving his memories, but if he truly wanted new individuals it was no skin off her back. “I can arrange to have replacement members waiting for us by the time we arrive at our destination. Though I wish you would have considered this sooner. You must have known the danger you’d be placing them in when you requested them.” She stood up and took a step towards him. “But I’m going to have to correct you on one thing. You said there’s no reason for me to continue this mission? I can think of one reason that’s in this room. You. I was put on this mission to protect you, and that’s exactly what I intend to do. You have to stay alive for us to succeed. But more than that…” Her fists tightened. “Godammit Vergil, I told you I’m not made of stone. I already lost you once before. Not again. I’m going to stay and help keep you safe, and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it.” Most of this was pure fabrication, of course… but somewhere deep, deep inside, the feeling she was pouring out, the desire to keep him from harm, rang true – and the realisation made Triste hate herself.

[Pterano]

"But that's the thing... Rex wasn't a monster at the start... and never would've befriended someone who was... I just don't believe it." He shook his head here. "Impulsive and hot-headed maybe... but monster? No. I specifically remember Kalis cautioning Rex ABOUT finding the waypoints, as he feared it would lead to their court martial by the Federation. He strikes me as someone who started off much the same way Rex did... and I believe there might still be a fragment of his old self left within him. Whatever changed Rex out there changed him too... for the worse. I'm just trying to remember what it was... or if I went out there at all with them."

He paused here to listen, his hand falling from the doorknob as she explained a few things. "Well I DID consider it sooner, remember? I made the request in Bolivia, but you overruled me." he pointed out. But there was more. She finally admitted it... she didn't want to lose him again... and it wasn't just because she'd been ordered to keep him safe... there was more there... genuine concern, and the gecko relaxed visibly, his face melting into a softer expression.

A smile began to play on his features here, and he pushed off from the door and walked back towards her. Stopping before her, the gecko's tail swished from his right to his left as he adjusted his weight in the same manner. "Well... I'm glad... I'm glad I'm not just some statistic for you to protect." He smirked here, then, without much warning, he thew his arms out and embraced him, pulling her against him, or himself up against her, as he moved his feet as well. Without waiting for her permission, he closed his eyes and leaned in, going for a kiss. It was abrupt, but he no longer cared. This was how he'd been hoping things would culminate, but only if she wanted it; he hadn't been joking when he'd said he needed something to keep his mind off darker thoughts.

[Nick22]

Thank you' Marie said as she took a sip of the drink. it was as the waitress said, a powerful drink, one that had fruit overtones, Marie thought it tasted somewhat like punch. Rose drank from hers , looking over at Marita, who smiled at Lily ' Yes, it is times like this where you find who your real friends are. We must persevere through this. Tony would not have wanted us to leave this mission because of him, and I'm not leaving. We have to find the rest of those things, before that madman does. Otherwise, our world, quite literally, will cease to exist, in any civilized form. We are playing a dangerous game with dangerous enemies, with very high stakes, and in games like that you lose people. We may lose others in our group before the end, its a real possibility. But I, for one, am going to see this through, no matter what."

[aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato)]

"True true..." nodded Lily solemnly. "I'm glad you don't want to give up." She took a sip of her water to calm her nerves. Her allies had proven that even the death of a beloved colleague wasn't enough to sway them. They had earned the right to know why Lily was on this mission.

She took a deep breath. "There's something I should tell you all......uhh..." she trailed off for a second. She felt weird all of a sudden...

-------------------------------

The waitress returned to the kitchens, sliding her notepad back into the top half of her dress.

Nodding once to a cook, she ducked past a walk-in freezer to a large set of wafflers, which were used during breakfast but at the moment were deactivated. Crouched behind them was Emilena, dressed in a security guard's outfit.

"Did you do it?" Emilena whispered expectantly.

Flora grinned. "Yes ma'am." She scratched her scalp; the black dye was giving her a bit of a rash. "Nice dose of powdered biproxytol in each of their drinks, especially Rose's. Had to drug Lily too, sorry."

"Oh, I'm sure!" But Emilena couldn't hide the sneering grin spreading across her countenance. "And Soren?"

Flora nodded perkily. "He got the green stuff! Hallucinogenic blend, right?"

Emilena snorted. "God, this is gonna be hilarious. Too bad we can't be there to see it."

[Nick22]

Marita suddenly began convulsing, as the biproxytol began to take effect. ' dear God..' she grunted 'someone spiked our.. drinks..' Rose' was forced to her knees , her body visibly shaking '  Marie's face began working, she had never used biproxytol, even though several of the girls on staff  at the Black Sheep had drug habits, she hadnt been one of them. so this packed a special punch for her."What..' she grunted ' stuff did they put in there.'

[bushwacked]

Triste gazed back at him as Vergil drew closer to her, as he pulled her up against him. She smirked. “Hey, don’t get all high and mighty just because you’re not a statistic.” Alright, you’ve been here before. If this is what it takes to keep him – Then Vergil leaned in closer, and her thoughts were interrupted as his mouth pressed against hers.  She stiffened slightly… and then relaxed a moment later, allowing it to happen.

But it was more than that, more than just acceptance. She was pressing herself against him, firmly, insistently, wanting this to happen. The feeling hit her like a jolt of electricity. Almost as a reflex, her fist shot forwards, hooking under his arms and driving powerfully into his stomach, winding him. Grabbing his shoulders roughly, Triste spun him around and slammed Vergil’s back against the wall, trying to take out her frustration, to drive the confused thoughts from her mind. “You lost the last time we tried to get in some extra training,” Triste growled as she pushed him back and kissed the side of his neck. “Feel like trying to give it another go?”

---------------------------------------------

Axel took another sip of his cocktail, then glanced to the side as Lily trailed off. "What? What's the matter, are you okay hon-" Grunting from across the table made him swivel around, and he blinked as the three women opposite him started shaking. "Marita, come on... What are you talking about? Why would anyone spike our drinks?" He was about to say more, when he realised that the table was too big for them to hear him. How had they been able to talk before? They looked miles away. Axel's eyes widened, turning as big as saucers. The drinks! All their drinks! They were melting, melting into the atmosphere like a rainbow made of honey and dreams! Wait... What if rainbows ARE honey and dreams?! The rat nodded solemnly to himself, as he pieced together the puzzle. This was huge... fuck, he needed to write it down.

"Lily! Lily, get me something to write with!" Axel stammered as he spun back to her. "I understand it now..." He gaped, sniggered then burst out laughing. "When... when did your... head turn into... into a robot?!" Axel managed to gasp between hysterics, wagging a finger towards her.

[Pterano]

At a table near the group, a taller man with slicked black hair and a small ponytail watched the ordeal over a glass of water. The other man sitting at his table was there simply for the onlookers and to nod every time he said something, but they weren't having a real conversation. Instead, the first one was reporting back to Kalis's flagship. "So far nothing... no clues as to where the last waypoint is... but... we need two still, don't we?" he asked, getting his confirmation a second later. "Mm... we might need to employ another strategy... didn't we capture one of them earlier?" he asked quietly, getting a subdued nod from the other guy at his table. "Perhaps we could use him... get the information we need. Hold on... something's happening..."

And so something was. "Drinks were spiked" was going around the table, and from the way the group was reacting, it was clear they'd been drugged. Smirking to himself now, he pyramided his fingers and watched with amusement inconspicuously. "You'll never guess what just happened, but it seems our competition continues to give them fits... this'll be interesting..."


Out in Quito, Varanus walked back onto the dropship. "Seems we have a change of plans." He muttered, nodding at the doctor they had on board. "Give him this..." Varanus held up his datapad for the doctor to read, and while the doctor seemed surprised, he nodded wordlessly, and moved to the medical bay, to where Tony was still in his chemically induced coma.

"Too bad we can't just kill him... and the don." Varanus mumbled, shaking his head.

"I figure there'll be time for that soon... I can always inject him with nanomachines that'll stop his heart on our signal." the doctor suggested.

"What's the point? He's the least threatening of their group, and we need to find information on those waypoints. Just inject him with what you've been ordered to, or I'll snap your neck." the monitor threatened.

"Calm down... take it easy..." Pulling out a syringe and loading it into a gun, he placed the gun squarely on the unconscious ferret's head and injected it right into his brain. "There... all set."

"Load him onto the Falchion... now." Varanus ordered, and the doctor motioned for two soldiers to start pushing his levitating gurney out towards the ship while the monitor went on ahead, his job done for now.

[aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato)]

Lily tried to push back with her chair and succeeded only in tumbling heels over head as the chair tipped backwards. Nursing her head, she looked blankly at Axel and tried to reply. "I don't...uhhhh...."

What am I doing? she thought blankly. No...it's not what I'm doing...It's WHAT I'm doing...What am I doing? Out here...doing this...why am I doing this?

How do we perceive our own deaths? she thought, and an icy flash of panic shot through her. She could see it...eternity...the endless void of nothingness that awaits us all...the annihilation her real body has already encountered. When I die, will I finally be one again? Will it finally be over? Even more over than usual when one dies?

What if I'm already dead? What if I've ALWAYS been dead but just never noticed? What if everyone here is dead...RIGHT NOW.

All this time she was staring glassy-eyed at a seashell nailed on the ceiling beam as part of the decorations. Just staring at the seashell with drool coming out of her mouth.

[Serris]

"Yeah, slightly," Soren replied to Axel's inquiry.

A few seconds later, the Rat suddenly burst out laughing. "What's so funny?" he asked. He looked around. The resturant was subdued and quiet with patrons eating dinner and enjoying cocktails. Several stares went their way.

It was then when Axel started talking about robot heads that he realized something was terribly wrong.

Namely the moment a lithe dark haired woman in fatigues emerged out of the bread basket.

"Carson, what are you doing here?" He seemed totally oblivious to the fact that a Human had emerged from a place that was physically impossible to fit into.

"You're never there for me!" the woman demanded.

"It's not true! I was there to greet you once you returned from your tour as a civilian augment repair tech for the military!"

"Yeah once! You live in your cushy house and do easy jobs while I get shot at amd other such shit! Well this ends now!"

With a snap of fingers as loud as thunderclaps, the landscape began to melt and twist. The elegant resturant had been transformed into a bombed out ruin.

------------

Marion watched the whole scene from behind a tree. Her night vision gear had allowed her to see what had just transpired. She moved closed and ducked behind a landing strut.

Her hear raced. As tough as she was, she was outnumbered by a large margin.

[bushwacked]

"Dammit, just... hang on..." Triste muttered as Vergil pulled at her shirt. Pulling her knife out she sliced through the buttons, letting the clothing fall to the floor. Moving back to him, she felt a stiffness pressing against her thigh. "Well... at least you're not totally useless," she smirked, glancing down and giving him a squeeze. Raising her knife-hand, Triste touched its point against the side of his throat briefly, then drew it down, the blade cutting through his top. Tearing it off Vergil, she pushed up against him, her tail wrapping around his legs. She moved her hands up, exploring his bare chest.

Abruptly, Triste's tail tightened around him and she twisted, knocking Vergil off balance and throwing him to the floor. Dropping the knife and letting it land point-first on the floor next to his head, she straddled him, gripping his wriste and holding his arms down as she bent closer. "Think it still works properly?" she breathed as she leaned in and bit his shoulder, her sharp teeth not quite piercing the skin.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Axel giggled at the robot next to him, then gasped as he realised he was letting too much of his drink melt. Too much! Reaching out, he snatched up the amazing capsule was was somehow able to contain the beautiful colours. Ramming the straw in his mouth, Axel sucked the glass dry then leaned back, sighing contentedly.

This is... this is amazing.... Wait, why did I think that?! Or that?! Or that?! Axel shuddered. Godammit, why did I shudder? I didn't choose to... Who's telling me to do all this stuff? Desperately, he turned to Soren and grasped his shoulders. "Soren, I... I don't know how to tell you this, but... but someone's controlling me! I'm... I'm just someone's plaything! Some sick fucker's puppet! Look, I'm going to hit you, and someone's making me do it!" Axel slapped Soren around the side of the head. Fireworks exploded outwards from the impact. "Ooooh!" He gasped.